the president has repeatedly blamed republicans for the fiscal cliff stalemate and now, he is doubling down on that criticism. on "meet the press," president obama continued his public campaign to pressure congress. >> if congress doesn't act, then everybody's taxes go up. and for the average family that could mean a loss of $2,000 in income and the whole economy could slow down at a time went economy's actually starting to pick up. >> reporter: he, again, called on lawmakers to strike a deal or hold a vote on his plan, which would raise tax rates on wealthy americans, a major sticking point for republicans. >> the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest americans are protected. that seems to be their only overriding, unifying theme. >> reporter: after the interview, republican leaders accused the president of assigning blame instead of leading. >> when they say leadership falls on you, mr. president, you don't have a role here in breaking this impasse? you have had a tough go with congress. >> david, at a certain point, if fol